Device for tying shoelace

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a shoelace tying device which is coupled to a shoelace so as to firmly maintain a tightly tied state of the shoelace on a shoe. The shoelace tying device comprises a housing, a pair of lace passages, into which both free ends of the shoelace are threaded to penetrate therethrough, respectively, and a pair of shuttles, which are vertically reciprocatable so as to widen or narrow a width of the lace passages, respectively. When the shoelace, penetrating through the lace passages, is pulled to tighten a shoe, the shuttles are moved to widen the width of the lace passages, respectively, thereby securing free movement of the shoelace. On the contrary, when the shoelace is untied to loosen the shoe, the shuttles are moved to narrow the width of the lace passages, respectively, thereby restricting the movement of the shoelace. The shoelace tying device further comprises a pair of elastic members adapted to apply elasticity to the shuttles, respectively, for allowing the shuttles to move so as to narrow the width of the respective lace passages, and a release button adapted to cause the shuttles to move so as to widen the width of the lace passages as it is manually pushed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to shoelace tying devices, and moreparticularly to a shoelace tying device which is coupled to a shoelaceso as to firmly maintain a taut tied state of the shoelace.

BACKGROUND ART

Generally, most widely used shoes, more particularly, sports shoes, aredesigned to enable a wearer to tighten the shoe to conform closely withthe shape of the foot of the wearer by adjusting a tightening degree ofa shoelace, which is threaded through eyelets punched through a shoeshell.

In order to secure such a shoelace-type shoe onto the foot of thewearer, first, the shoelace threaded through the eyelets is pulledtautly by the wearer so as to cause the shoe to tighten around the footof the wearer, and then both free ends of the shoelace are tied into abow-shaped knot.

However, the shoelace-type shoe has several drawbacks in that it istroublesome in use since the wearer has to tie or untie the shoelacewhenever putting on or taking off the shoes, and the shoelace will oftenbecome inadvertently loosened and untied when walking.

As the prior art for solving such an inconvenience occurring in relationto the tying of a shoelace on the above described shoelace-type shoe,Korean Patent Registration No. 171552 (Mar. 15, 2000), Korean PatentLaid-Open No. 2001-0008137 (Feb. 2, 2001), etc. disclose shoelace tyingdevices.

The disclosed conventional shoelace tying devices, however, have severalproblems in that a shoelace cannot be easily threaded through thedevices, and, even after being tightened, the tension in the shoelace isgradually released when walking which will cause the shoe to loosen onthe foot of the wearer.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the aboveproblems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide ashoelace tying device which can be easily coupled to a shoelace, andenables the shoelace to be easily and rapidly tied and untied whenputting on and taking off one's shoes.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a shoelacetying device which can prevent a shoelace from becoming inadvertentlyloosened and untied.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a shoelacetying device which enables both hanging ends of the shoelace, whichremain after tying, to be smartly knotted.

In accordance with the present invention, the above and other objectscan be accomplished by the provision of a shoelace tying devicecomprising: a housing; a pair of lace passages, into which both freeends of the shoelace are threaded to penetrate therethrough,respectively; a pair of shuttles, which are vertically reciprocatable soas to widen or narrow a width of the lace passages, respectively, whenthe shoelace, penetrating through the lace passages, is pulled totighten a shoe, the shuttles being moved to widen the width of the lacepassages, respectively, thereby securing free movement of the shoelace,whereas, when the shoelace is untied to loosen the shoe, the shuttlesbeing moved to narrow the width of the lace passages, respectively,thereby restricting the movement of the shoelace; a pair of elasticmembers adapted to apply elasticity to the shuttles, respectively, forallowing the shuttles to move so as to narrow the width of therespective lace passages; and a release button adapted to cause theshuttles to move so as to widen the width of the lace passages as it ismanually pushed.

Preferably, a pair of inclined protrusions may be obliquely arrangedadjacent to the shuttles inside a space defined between an upper walland a lower wall of the housing, respectively, spaces defined betweenthe upper and lower walls around the respective inclined protrusions maydefine the lace passages, respectively, and the inclined protrusions maybe positioned so that they are upwardly close to or downwardly apartfrom a vertical movement path of the shuttles, thereby causing the lacepassages to be narrowed or widen according to vertical movements of theshuttles.

Preferably, the shuttles may be toothed wheels, and may bereciprocatably fitted in shuttle slots formed at upper and lower sidesof the housing.

Preferably, the elastic members may be torsion springs incorporated inthe housing.

Preferably, the shoelace tying device may further comprise a shoelaceholder incorporated in the housing, into which both hanging ends of theshoelace are fitted and tied.

Preferably, the shoelace holder may include a pair of connecting rodsconnected at their one-side ends to the housing, a holder body connectedto the other ends of the connecting rods and having a plurality of holesfor allowing the shoelace to be threaded therethrough into a bow-shapedknot, one surface of the holder body being opened to allow the shoelaceto approach the holes, and a cap for covering the opened surface of theholder body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of thepresent invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a shoelace tying device inaccordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view illustrating the shoelace tying deviceshown in FIG. 1, shown in a state wherein covers are omitted;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary view illustrating a state wherein the shoelacetying device shown in FIG. 1 is mounted to a shoe;

FIGS. 4A to 4D are plan views illustrating sequential operating steps ofthe shoelace tying device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a shoelace tying device inaccordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view illustrating the shoelace tying deviceshown in FIG. 5, shown in a state wherein covers are omitted;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary view illustrating a state wherein the shoelacetying device shown in FIG. 5 is mounted to a shoe; and

FIGS. 8A to 8D are plan views illustrating sequential operating steps ofthe shoelace tying device shown in FIG. 5.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in greater detail to preferred embodiments ofthe invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be usedthroughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or likeparts. The following embodiments are only intended to exemplarilyexplain the shoelace tying device in accordance with the presentinvention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the presentinvention.

First Embodiment

Now, a shoelace tying device in accordance with a first embodiment ofthe present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4D.

As shown in the aforesaid drawings, the shoelace tying device, which isdesignated as reference numeral 1, is a device for tightly tying bothends of a shoelace 2 so as not to be inadvertently loosened and untied,and essentially comprises a pair of left and right lace passages 20, apair of left and right shuttles 30, a pair of left and right elasticmembers 40, and a release button 50. All these enumerated components areincorporated in a housing 10 of the shoelace tying device 1.

The shoelace tying device 1 is designed to tie both the ends of theshoelace 2 in the same manner as each other. Thus, the shoelace tyingdevice 1 is structured that its left and right sides are symmetrical toeach other. Hereinafter, accordingly, only one side of the symmetricstructure will be explained as occasion demands.

The housing 10 is a casing member for incorporating various componentsof the shoelace tying device 1 therein. Although the housing 10 has anapproximately rectangular sectional shape in the embodiment shown inFIGS. 1 to 4D, it should be noted that the shape of the housing 10 isnot limited to any specific shape so long as it can incorporate othercomponents of the device 1 to conform to their purposes. For example,the housing 10 may be formed into an elliptical shape as shown in FIG.5, and, furthermore, may be formed into other various characteristicshapes capable of attracting interest of children.

The lace passages 20 are passages for allowing the shoelace 2 topenetrate therealong inside the housing 10. In order to define such lacepassages 20 inside the housing 10, a pair of inclined protrusions 13 aresymmetrically incorporated in a space defined between an upper wall 11and a lower wall 12 of the housing 10 so that they are spaced apart fromthe upper and lower walls 11 and 12 by constant dances and are obliquelyoriented relative to a vertical movement path of the respective shuttles30. Thereby, either space between the upper and lower walls 11 and 12around the respective inclined protrusions 13 defines each lace passage20.

The lace passage 20 is divided into three passage sections 20A, 20B, and20C. In this case, the shoelace 2 first enters the passage section 20Adefined between the upper wall 11 and the inclined protrusion 13, thengoes round the passage section 20B defined between the inclinedprotrusion 13 and the shuttle 30, and finally comes out of the passagesection 20C defined between the inclined protrusion 13 and the lowerwall 12. That is, the shoelace 2 is threaded in the housing 10 whilemoving one turn around the inclined protrusion 13. Here, terms “theupper wall” and “the lower wall” of the housing 10 are classified simplyin consideration of upper and lower positions of the drawings.

The shuttles 30 are members for tightening the shoelace 2 so as not tobe inadvertently loosened and untied, as well as for enabling theshoelace 2 to be simply and easily untied when taking off shoes.

More particularly, when the shoelace 2 is pulled so as to cause a shoe 3to tighten in a direction of the arrows shown in FIG. 4A, the shuttles30 are moved by the movement of the shoelace 2 so as to widen a width ofthe passage sections 20B in a direction of the arrows shown in FIG. 4A,thereby being adapted not to restrict the movement of the shoelace 2. Inthis way, the shoelace 2 is maintained in a freely movable state.

On the contrary,when the shoelace 2 is pulled so as to cause the shoe 3to be loosened in a direction of the arrows shown in FIG. 4B, by virtueof both a force applied to the shoelace 2 and the elasticity of theelastic members 40, the shuttles 30 are moved so as to narrow the widthof the passage sections 20B in a direction of the arrows shown in FIG.4B, thereby being adapted to restrict the movement of the shoelace 2. Asa result, the shoelace 2 is securely tightened so as not to beinadvertently loosened and untied.

Consequently, in a non-pushed natural state of the release button 50,according to interaction between the lace passages 20, shuttles 30, andelastic members 40, the shoelace 2 is freely movable in a direction oftightening the shoe 3, but is limited in its movement in a direction ofloosening the shoelace 3.

In the present embodiment, as the shuttles 30 are used toothed wheels.The toothed wheels 30 are installed so as to reciprocate in a verticaldirection of the housing 10. That is, the toothed wheels 30 arevertically reciprocatable in a state wherein they are fitted invertically aligned shuttle slots 14 and 71 of the housing 10. Here, theshuttle slots 14 and 71 define a movement course of the shuttles 30.Alternatively, instead of the toothed wheels, other members, such asrollers, having a high-frictional suffice may be used as the shuttles30.

As can be seen from the drawings, each of the inclined protrusions 13 isobliquely arranged so that it is upwardly close to or downwardly apartfrom the shuttle slots 14 and 71. In the present embodiment, the shuttleslots 14 are formed at a lower surface of the housing 10, and the othershuttle slots 71 are formed at an inner cover 70, which will beexplained hereinafter.

According to the above described vertical reciprocating movements of theshuttles 30, when the shuttles 30 are moved upwardly, the lace passagesections 20B are narrowed, thereby restricting the movement of theshoelace 2, and, when the shuttles 30 are moved downwardly, the lacepassage sections 20B are widen, thereby securing free movement of theshoelace 2.

The elastic members 40 are members for providing an elastic forcerequired to move the shuttles 30 upwardly so as to narrow the lacepassage sections 20B and thus restrict the shoelace 2. In other words,if no external force is applied thereto, the shuttles 30 are maintainedin such an upwardly moved position by receiving the elastic force of theelastic members 40, respectively. If an external force, overcoming theelastic force of the elastic members 40, is applied, the shuttles 30 aremoved downwardly so as to widen the lace passage sections 20B and thusrelease the restriction of the shoelace 2. However, even in this case,the shuttles 30 are adapted to be immediately returned to their originalupward positions as soon as the external force is released.

The elastic members 40 can be freely selected from among various kindsof members so long as they can provide an elastic force required to movethe shuttles 30 so as to narrow the lace passage sections 20B,respectively. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4D, especially, eachof the elastic members, which is specifically designated as referencenumeral 40A, takes the form of an elastic plate-shaped member integrallyprotruding from the housing 10 below an associated one of the shuttles30. The elasticity of the elastic plate-shaped member 40A is theelasticity of a material of the housing 10 itself, and the housing 10,for example, is made of plastic synthetic resins.

The release button 50 is a button for allowing the tightened shoelace 2to be loosened. In the shown embodiment, the release button, which isspecifically designated as reference numeral 50A, is fitted at thecenter thereof around one end of a partition 15. Here, the partition 15forms the center of a left and right symmetrical structure of thehousing 10.

The release button 50A has two operating portions 51 for pressing a pairof the left and right shuttles 30, respectively, and a button portion52. In a state free from external force, since the shuttles 30 aremaintained in the upwardly moved position by the elastic plate-shapedmembers 40A, the release button 50A, which comes into contact at itsoperating portions 51 with both the shuttles 30, is moved upwardly,thereby causing the button portion 52 to protrude upwardly out of thehousing 10. In this state, as the wearer pushes the release button 50A,the operating portions 51 of the release button 50A act tocorrespondingly push the shuttles 30 downwardly and thus cause the lacepassage sections 20B to widen. In this way, the shoelace 2 is releasedfrom its restricted state, so as to be loosened if necessary.

As stated above, with the shoelace tying device 1 in accordance with thepresent invention, the shoelace 2 can be tightened so as not to beinadvertently loosened by being pulled by the wearer as desired.Furthermore, the shoelace 2 can be continuously maintained in thetightened state unless the wearer pushes the release button 50A.

Meanwhile, both free hanging ends of the tightened shoelace 2 causeinconvenience when walking since they may be stepped on by the wearer.Therefore, the shoelace tying device 1 of the present invention ispreferably formed with a pair of left and right shoelace holders 60 forgrasping both hanging ends of the shoelace 2.

Each shoelace holder shown in FIGS. 1 to 4D, which is specificallydesignated as reference numeral 60A, has a holder post 61 formed ateither corner of a lower edge of the housing 10. Between the holder post61 and the lower wall 12 is defined a narrow gap 62 for allowing theshoelace 2 to be fixedly fitted therein. With such a shoelace holder60A, the shoelace 2 is securely captured in the gap 62, so as to besmartly tied and fixed.

Preferably, the shoelace tying device 1 of the present inventioncomprises the inner cover 70, and an outer cover 80.

In the shown embodiment, the inner cover 70 is formed with a pair of theabove described shuttle slots 71. Therefore, in a state wherein thehousing 10 is covered with the inner cover 70, both the shuttles 30 arefitted in the shuttle slots 71 in a vertically movable manner,respectively. One end of the inner cover 70 is hingedly connected to oneend of the housing 10, and the other end thereof is adapted to beelastically locked in a locking groove 16 formed at the other end of thehousing 10 in its covered state.

In addition, the outer cover 80 is formed with a pair of inclinedprotrusion slots 81 having a shape and size suitable for the fitting ofthe respective inclined protrusions 13. As the housing 10 is coveredwith the inner cover 70, and then is again covered with the outer cover80, the inclined protrusions 13 are tightly fitted in the inclinedprotrusion slots 81, respectively, thereby achieving firm locking of theouter cover 80.

Now, the operation of the shoelace tying device 1 in accordance with thepresent embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4D.

First, as shown in FIG. 4A, as the shoelace 2 is threaded in the lacepassages 20, and is tightened by being pulled in the direction of thearrows, the shuttles 30, which are previously moved upwardly by theelasticity of the elastic plate-shaped members 40A, are forced to movedownwardly by the movement of the shoelace 2. In this way, the shoelace2 is maintained in a freely movable state so as to be pulled by thewearer as desired.

After that, when a pulling force applied to the shoelace 2 is removed,the shoelace 2 is forced to be loosened by some extent in the directionof the arrows shown in FIG. 4B due to the compression of a foot. Thisresults in the upward movement of the shuttles 30 in the direction ofthe arrows as shown in FIG. 4B. In this case, such an upward movement ofthe shuttles 30 is further enhanced by the elastic plate-shaped members40A, thereby causing the lace passage sections 20B to be narrowed. Inthis way, in spite of the force applied to the shoelace 2 so as toloosen it, the shoelace 2 is securely restricted so as not to beloosened.

After completing the tying of the shoelace 2, as shown in FIG. 4C, bothfree hanging ends of the shoelace 2 are fitted in the gaps 62 so as tobe stably fixed by the shoelace holders 60A, respectively.

Then, if the release button 50 is pushed by the wearer as shown in FIG.4D, the shuttles 30 are moved downwardly by overcoming the elasticity ofthe elastic plate-shaped members 40A. As a result, the shoelace 2 isreleased from its restricted state to allow it to be loosened and untiedif necessary.

As stated above, with the shoelace tying device 1 in accordance with thefirst embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to tightly tiethe shoelace 2 so that it is not inadvertently loosened by simplypulling the shoelace 2 as desired. Further, the shoelace 2 can be simplyreleased from its taut tied state as the release button 50 is pushed bythe wearer.

Second Embodiment

Now, another shoelace tying device in accordance with a secondembodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference toFIGS. 5 to 8D.

Similarly to the above described first embodiment, the shoelace tyingdevice 1 basically comprises a pair of the left and right lace passages20, a pair of the left and right shuttles 30, a pair of the left andright elastic members 40, and the release button 50, and all thesecomponents are incorporated in the housing 10. However, the first andsecond embodiments are somewhat different in relation to the sectionalshape of the housing 10, the kind of the elastic members 40, the shapeof the release button 50, and the structure of the shoelace holder 60.Therefore, in the following description, some parts in this embodimentare substantially the same as those in the fist embodiment and thusdenoted by the same reference numerals even though they are depicted indifferent drawings, and a detailed description thereof will thus beomitted because it is considered to be unnecessary.

The housing 10, which has an approximately elliptical sectional shape,also incorporate the inclined protrusions 13 therein so that theinclined protrusions 13 are spaced apart from the upper and lower walls11 and 12 by constant distances and are obliquely oriented. Thereby,either space between the upper and lower walls 11 and 12 around therespective inclined protrusions 13 defines the respective lace passages20.

In this embodiment, similarly, the shoelace 2 enters the passagesections 20A defined between the upper wall 11 and the inclinedprotrusions 13, then goes round the passage sections 20B between theinclined protrusions 13 and the shuttles 30, and finally comes out ofthe passage sections 20C between the inclined protrusions 13 and thelower wall 12.

In the first embodiment, the elastic plate-shaped members 40A,integrally formed with the housing 10, are used as the elastic members40, but the present embodiment uses torsion springs 40B as the elasticmembers 40. The torsion springs 40B are installed between the respectiveshuttles 30 and the lower wall 12 of the housing 10, and adapted to pushthe shuttles 30 upwardly so as to narrow the lace passage sections 20B,respectively. In FIG. 6, the reference numeral 41 denotes posts, aroundwhich the torsion springs 40B are fitted, respectively. Throughout acircumference of the respective shuttles 30 in the form of a toothedwheel, preferably, are formed grooves 31, respectively, for preventingthe torsion springs 40B from seceding from their positions.

Similarly to the first embodiment, the release button, which isspecifically designated as reference numeral 50B in the secondembodiment, is also fitted at the center thereof around one end of thepartition 15 formed in the housing 10. The release button 50B of thesecond embodiment has the two operating portions 51 for pressing the twoshuttles 30, the button portion 52, and elastic wings 53 formed at bothsides of the button portion 52, respectively. With such a configuration,by virtue of the elasticity of the wings 53, the release button 50B canbe smoothly returned to its original position at the same time as theremoval of a pushing force exerted upon the release button 50B.

In the present embodiment, as the shoelace holders 60 is provided asingle shoelace holder 60B. The shoelace holder 60B comprises a pair ofconnecting rods 63, a ring-shaped holder body 64, and a cap 66. Theconnecting rods 63 are connected at their one-side ends to the housing10. The ring-shaped holder body 64 is connected to the other ends of theconnecting rods 63, and is formed with a plurality of holes 65 forallowing the shoelace 2 to be threaded therethrough into a bow-shapedknot. One surface of the holder body 64, more particularly, the uppersurface thereof is opened for enabling the shoelace 2 to approach theholes 65. The cap 66 is used to cover the opened surface of the holderbody 64.

The connecting rods 63 may be configured to be fitted around anyprojections similar to the holder posts 61 of the first embodiment, andthe connecting rods 63 and the holder body 64 may be formed into asingle member or may be formed into independent members configured to beassembled to each other.

The holes 65 of the holder body 64 include an insertion hole 65A,through which both free ends of the shoelace 2 are inserted together,four side holes 65B spaced apart from both sides of the insertion hole65A, in pairs, by approximately 90 degrees so as to allow both the endsof the shoelace 2 to be tied into a bow-shaped knot, and a drawing hole65C formed at an opposite position of the insertion hole 65A, throughwhich both free ends of the shoelace 2 are drawn together.

With such a shoelace holder 60B, both free ends of the shoelace 2,hanging from the device 1, can be smartly tied into a bow-shaped knot.

In the present embodiment, in a state wherein the housing 10 issuccessively covered by the inner cover 70 and the outer cover 80, alocker, which is designated as reference numeral 72, is used to lock theinner cover 70 to the housing 10, and another locker, which isdesignated as reference numeral 82, is used to lock the outer cover 80to the housing 10.

Now, the operation of the shoelace tying device 1 in accordance with thesecond embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 8A to 8D.

First, as shown in FIG. 8A, as the shoelace 2 is threaded in the lacepassages 20, and is tightened by being pulled in the direction of thearrows, the shuttles 30 are slightly moved downwardly as they are forcedby the movement of the shoelace 2. In this way, the shoelace 2 is keptin a state allowing free continuous pulling thereof. As shown in FIG.8B, after completing the tying of the shoelace 2, the shoelace 2 issecurely tightened by means of the shuttles 30, so as not to beinadvertently loosened. Then, as shown in FIG. 8C, both free hangingends of the tightened shoelace 2 are threaded in the shoelace holder 60Bso as to be smartly tied into a bow-shaped knot. After that, as therelease button 50 is pushed, as shown in FIG. 8D, the shuttles 30 aremoved downwardly, thereby allowing the shoelace 2 to be released fromits restrained state. In this way, the shoelace 2 is maintained so as tobe loosened if necessary.

As apparent from the above description, the present invention provides ashoelace tying device designed to enable a wearer to tighten the shoe toconform closely with the shape of the foot of the wearer, which canallow a shoelace to be easily and rapidly tied and untied when puttingon and taking off the shoe. Further, according to the present invention,it is possible to continuously maintain the shoelace in a taut tiedstate unless a release button is pushed, thereby being capable ofpreventing the shoelace from becoming inadvertently loosened and untied.Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible tosmartly tie both hanging ends of the tightened shoelace into abow-shaped knot.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendisclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art willappreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions arepossible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the inventionas disclosed in the accompanying claims.

1. A shoelace tying device comprising: a housing 10; a pair of lacepassages 20, into which both flee ends of the shoelace 2 are threaded topenetrate therethrough, respectively; a pair of shuttles 30, which arereciprocatable so as to widen or narrow a width of the lace passages 20,respectively, when the shoelace 2, penetrating through the lace passages20, is pulled to tighten a shoe 3, the shuttles 30 being moved to widenthe width of the lace passages 20, respectively, thereby securing freemovement of the shoelace 2, whereas, when the shoelace 2 is untied toloosen the shoe 3, the shuttles 30 being moved to narrow the width ofthe lace passages 20, respectively, thereby restricting the movement ofthe shoelace 2; a pair of elastic members 40 adapted to apply elasticityto the shuttles 30, respectively, for allowing the shuttles 30 to moveso as to narrow the width of the respective lace passages 20; and arelease button 50 adapted to cause the shuttles 30 to move so as towiden the width of the lace passages 20 as it is manually pushed.
 2. Thedevice as set forth in claim 1, wherein: a pair of inclined protrusions13 are obliquely arranged adjacent to the shuttles 30 inside a spacedefined between an upper wall 11 and a lower wall 12 of the housing 10,respectively; spaces defined between the upper wall 11 and the lowerwall 12 around the respective inclined protrusions 13 define the lacepassages 20, respectively; and the inclined protrusions 13 arepositioned so that they are upwardly close to or downwardly apart from avertical movement path of the shuttles 30, thereby causing the lacepassages 20 to be narrowed or widen according to vertical movements ofthe shuttles
 30. 3. The device as set forth in claim 1, wherein theshuttles 30 are toothed wheels, and are reciprocatably fitted in shuttleslots 14, 71 formed at upper and lower sides of the housing
 10. 4. Thedevice as set forth in claim 1, wherein the elastic members 40 aretorsion springs 40B incorporated in the housing
 10. 5. The device as setforth in claim 1, further comprising: a shoelace holder 60 incorporatedin the housing 10, into which both hanging ends of the shoelace 2 arefitted and tied.
 6. The device as set forth in claim 5, wherein theshoelace holder 60 includes: a pair of connecting rods 63 connected attheir one-side ends to the housing 10; a holder body 64 connected to theother ends of the connecting rods 63 and having a plurality of holes 65for allowing the shoelace 2 to be threaded therethrough into abow-shaped knot one surface of the holder body 64 being opened to allowthe shoelace 2 to approach the holes 65; and a cap 66 for covering theopened surface of the holder body 64.